We live in a cynical world. The motivations of people and companies tend to get tremendous scrutiny. However, in the case of the Interactive Intelligence Goat Program, done in conjunction with international charity Oxfam, there is nothing to be cynical about.
The program is straight forward and has impact. Allow a representative of Interactive Intelligence to take a few minutes to discuss how their unified business communications solutions can make your company more efficient, effective and adaptable in today’s dynamic markets, and they will donate a goat in your name through Oxfam. Better yet, if your boss attends the meeting, the donation will be upgraded to a cow.
This is clearly a case where you can find out how to do well and at the same time do tangible and extraordinary good. All you are being asked to do is listen and learn, i.e., consideration.
On goats, cows and doing good
Briefly, Oxfam is a confederation of 15 global organizations with active relief efforts in 99 countries. Their mission is grand yet simple — find lasting and reproducible solutions to poverty. As the video highlights, an important part of Oxfam’s efforts are based on their focus on goats and cows as keys to improving life in the world’s most impoverished places.
Goats are valuable on several fronts because they: can produce up to 6 kids a year; live and prosper in hostile environments; and produce up to several quarts of milk per day. The milk can be used not only for family nutrition but can also be turned into other products for family consumption and for sale.
The reason cows are an “upgrade” is because a single cow, given an environment that can support their more ample appetites, can produce up to four gallons of milk a day. They are literally a nutrition factory as well as source for potential additional income on a larger scale. In fact, along with basic nutrition and the ability to reproduce, the excrement of both animals can be used as fertilizer, and as meat sources if herds can be made to prosper.
Unified Communications Strategies has a nice piece by Jon Arnold, Principal J. Arnold & Associates (and a ContactCenterSolutions contributor), “How Goats Could Help Make Contact Centers More Productive,” that Interactive Intelligence has sponsored. It highlights how the Goat Program is very much in keeping with Interactive Intelligence’s values and history of giving back. Arnold notes:
“It’s a great example of acting both locally and globally, and the company has several other examples of this worth citing. Most of these fall under the umbrella of the Interactive Intelligence Foundation, which supports several ongoing initiatives. Two examples of local and global support would be the work they do with the Red Cross and FIRST. For the former, in 2011, Interactive donated to funds for both the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and closer to home the tornadoes that devastated Joplin, MO.
The second pertains more to the company’s roots. The company offers support for FIRST – For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology – a foundation started in 1989 to promote participation in these fields from our youth.”
Doing well
It is clear that we are living through a transformative period regarding contact center solutions. Traditionally, viewed as cost centers to handle customer complaints, contact centers are rapidly becoming critical hubs for organizations of all sizes that want to work to improve their internal operations and create sustainable value by improving the quality of customer experiences. These are goals executives are looking for insights and solutions about constantly.
Doing well by doing good can and should be mutually inclusive. The important word is “DOING.” The Goat Program from Interactive Intelligence invites you to discover why. As the saying goes, “The rest is up to you!”
Interactive Intelligence is a Platinum sponsor of ITEXPO East 2012. To be held Jan. 31- Feb. 3 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Fla., ITEXPO is the world’s premier IP communications event. Visit Interactive Intelligence in booth #606. Tim Passios, Director of Solutions Marketing at Interactive Intelligence, is speaking during “It is time to UCaaS!“ and “Size Doesn't Matter - leverage the Cloud to deliver enterprise-class technology within contact centers of all scopes and dimensions.“ For more information on ITEXPO registration, click here.
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